The Daniel O'Connell Series Book 3. The Great Reform Bill.

By Brian Igoe

This is the third in the series of LiteBite Books telling the story of Daniel O’Connell. It follows him from the Waterford Election to the great Clare Election where Daniel himself was elected. Thence the book looks at the run-up to the Great Reform Bill in England and the disputes in the United Kingdom House of Parliament of which Daniel was now a Member.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Igoe
• Release date: Jul 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301833764

Brian Igoe

You don’t need to know much about me because I never even considered writing BOOKS until I was in my sixties. I am a retired businessman and have written more business related documents than I care to remember, so the trick for me is to try and avoid writing like that in these books…. Relevant, I suppose, is that I am Irish by birth but left Ireland when I was 35 after ten years working in Waterford. We settled in Zimbabwe and stayed there until I retired, and that gave me loads of material for books which I will try and use sometime. So far I have only written one book on Africa, “The Road to Zimbabwe”, a light hearted look at the country’s history. And there’s also a small book about adventures flying light aircraft in Africa. And now I am starting on ancient Rome, the first book being about Julius Caesar, Marcus Cato, the Conquest of Gaul, (Caesar and Cato, the Road to Empire) and the Civil War. But for most of my books so far I have gone back to my roots and written about Irish history, trying to do so as a lively, living subject rather than a recitation of battles, wars and dates. My book on O’Connell, for example, looks more at his love affair with his lovely wife Mary, for it was a most successful marriage and he never really recovered from her death; and at the part he played in the British Great Reform Bill of 1832, which more than anyone he, an Irish icon, Out of Ireland, my book on Zimbabwe starts with a 13th century Chief fighting slavers and follows a 15th century Portuguese scribe from Lisbon to Harare, going on to travel with the Pioneer Column to Fort Salisbury, and to dine with me and Mugabe and Muzenda. And nearer our own day my Flying book tells of lesser known aspects of World War 2 in which my father was Senior Controller at RAF Biggin Hill, like the story of the break out of the Scharnhorst and Gneisau, or capturing three Focke Wulfs with a searchlight. And now for my latest effort I have gone back to my education (historical and legal, with a major Roman element) and that has involved going back in more ways than one, for the research included a great deal of reading, from Caesar to Plutarch and from Adrian Goldsworthy to Rob Goodman & Jimmy Soni.

Book preview

This is a LiteBite Book, about the equal of fifty or so pages of a Paperback or Pocket Book. This one is 18,500 words.

The Daniel O’Connell Series ‒ Book Three. The Great Reform Bill.

Copyright © 2013 by Brian Igoe

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This is the third in the series of LiteBite Books telling the story of Daniel O’Connell. It follows him from the Waterford Election where the incumbent Ascendancy Candidate was defeated to the great Clare Election where Daniel himself was elected. Thence the book looks at the run-up to the Great Reform Bill in England and the disputes in the United Kingdom House of Parliament of which Daniel was now a Member, a member moreover with a critical level of support.

Table of Contents.

Chapter 1. The Waterford Election. 1826 ‒ 1828.

Chapter 2. Victory? 1828 – 1830

Chapter 3. The Great Reform Bill of England. 1830 – 1832.

Chapter 1. The Waterford Election. 1826 ‒ 1828.

They were an interesting family, the Beresfords, and popular locally, if it was not election time and their opponent a Populist. They were given to spending their time and money in ‘manly sports’ among the people. Even Daniel had freely admitted that he had been their advocate in ordinary lawsuits, and had every reason to think well personally of his clients. In the end, Daniel decided that he would have to go to Waterford.

The Beresfords were not fools and not to be taken lightly. They had ample funds, and in any normal circumstances were unbeatable. He had some personal qualms about orchestrating an opposition to them, as he had formed a good professional relationship with them in legal affairs. Under normal circumstances, he would not have supported their opponents. But it was just too important. If the Catholic Association, under the umbrella of the Populist Party, could beat the most powerful family in the land on their own territory, they would be off to a flying start. So typically, once he had decided to fight, he put everything he had into it.

It involved a lot of travelling. He went to outlying parts as well as the City of Waterford, like the Villiers Stuart’s beautiful home Dromana House near Lismore, near Capoquin, from where he wrote to Mary: ‘Dromana, Co Waterford, 19 June 1826. My own sweet Love Here I am at this lovely spot. I believe it is that which Lady Morgan makes the scene of many of the incidents in Florence McCarthy. It is really a beautiful situation. As to yesterday, first, I wrote to you from Waterford and enclosed you a cheque for £35; next, sweetest, we heard an early Mass at Waterford and then started for Dungarvan. We breakfasted at Kilmacthomas, a town belonging to the Beresfords, but the people belong to us. They came out to meet us with green boughs and such shouting you can have no idea of. I harangued them from the window of the Inn, and we had a good deal of laughing at the bloody Beresfords. Judge what the popular feeling must be when in this, a Beresford town, every man their tenant, we had such a reception. A few miles farther on we found a chapel with the congregation assembled before Mass. The Priest made me come out and I addressed his flock, being my second speech. The freeholders here were the tenants of a Mr Palliser, who is on the adverse interest, but almost all of them will vote for us. We then proceeded to Dungarvan on the coast. There are here about four hundred voters belonging to the Duke of Devonshire. His agents have acted a most treacherous part by us, and our Committee at Waterford were afraid openly to attack these voters lest the Duke should complain of our violating what he calls his neutrality. But I deemed that all sheer nonsense, and to work we went. We had a most tremendous meeting here; we harangued the people from a platform erected by the walls of a new chapel. I never could form a notion of the great effect of popular declamation before yesterday. The clergy of the town most zealously assisted us. We have, I believe, completely triumphed, and I at present am convinced we shall poll to the last man of these voters. We then had a public dinner and great speeching. We broke up about nine, and Wyse and I came here with Mr Stuart in his carriage. We arrived about half after ten, and are going this day to Lismore on another mission.’

In the run up to the election itself there were Populist meetings every night at Ballybricken, on the hillside overlooking the Waterford Quays. So he addressed these meetings, and drew huge crowds, many brought by my cars. Polls then were not what they are today, and lasted for up to five days, and could be held at any time within a given period of six weeks or so at the discretion of the local